


A Gift Can Be A Curse... But A Curse Can Be A Gift

by Valentine20xx



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-27 23:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20054164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valentine20xx/pseuds/Valentine20xx
Summary: "Never look a gift horse in the mouth"...When Ranma is encouraged to re-evaluate his life by a mysterious woman, he finds himself in an odd situation, where he's promised many gifts just for accepting what fate has destined for him, rather than what his father claims is his future. Can he sort out what is and isn't beneficial about his life?





	1. Is It Better To Be Helpful… Or A Hindrance?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Ranma Nibbunoichi © Copyright Viz Media and Rumiko Takahashi, and is used without permission. I cannot reveal any other copyrights at this time, but I can confirm I don't own those either.
> 
> I don't think I need to tell you that this will feature a very different Ranma universe to the canon one. However, it could easily begin with something that could have happened IN canon, but we never saw, and several events are portrayed with new angles and new opinions on the original events. For now, As you read this first chapter, I ask you to think on this question…  
_How many of Ranma's problems were much less dangerous, or even nullified outright by some odd series of sometimes unrelated events… because Ranma is using the curse as a way to help him achieve a better outcome… and how many seemed to get worse purely since he used his own abilities, and shunned an easier solution that only needed his curse?_

**"Never look a gift horse in the mouth..." - Common proverb**

"_**People say fate is unavoidable. Me, I say payback's a bitch, and she's made fate look bad for years with all her crap..." - Unknown**_

Ranma was beginning to hate the remote part of China his father had ‘decided’ to use as a ‘shortcut’ on their way out of China. His father’s information was grossly outdated, probably printed when he was young, and he knew for a fact that his pack had got suspiciously heavier shortly after they’d finished exploring the most recent ruined town.

There was only so many times someone would ‘adjust’ the ‘training weights’ in someone’s pack before it became obvious that it was anything but. Never mind the fact Ranma carried practically everything, which he suspected was part of why Ranma was even supposedly using training weights.

The fact that the training weights he’d been using when they left Japan had romanji and katakana on them declaring them to be the property of the school he’d been attending at the time was not lost on him. He wouldn’t be surprised if they’d been thrown away shortly into the journey...

This area was notable for the fact it had been practically abandoned after one of the numerous bloody conflicts that China was historically known for. The result, however, was that the area was a lethal maze of churned up earth and barbed wire, with mines hidden beneath the ground.

There were three types of area. The most hazardous had a sea of brown earth, with barbed wire haphazardly set up within. They’d not even been remotely checked. The next safest had a series of wooden sticks shoved in the ground, remnants of when either the chinese or the occupying forces passed a mine detector over the area. The third had no barbed wire and some attempts at landscaping, since the mines had been found and disarmed or removed outright.

The bigger problem was that, if you wanted to take a shortcut through the uncleared spots, no-one claimed 100% certainty they were clear, and no-one was insane enough to go out and spend hours risking their life to find the unknown number of mines that had been missed.

Their journey was full of choices, between shaving five minutes by doing measured leaps over the barbed wire traps, hoping to not hear a soft click, and need to move quickly, and potentially into a domino effect, which may end up with a sudden and decisive end to their journey...

...and taking the long and well trodden path past it all, which was easier, but slower by far due to the fact no-one wanted to invest manpower into clearing the entire area when there was enough space to walk through. All they did in the short term was, when someone got their leg blown off, asked where it was, and marked it clear.

Their progress however was halted as they came across an old woman, sat on a shallow tree trunk in one of the few places that wasn't a blasted wasteland. She was looking at a particularly churned up distant area of the former battlefields wistfully, then a very battered picture.  
They'd heard of people like this, and could tell from the way she was sat what her reasons for being there were. She had come here to lay pilgrimage to the place one of her relatives died, having got nothing but an empty box to bury. Ranma winced mentally. This would not go well.  
"Excuse me..." The old woman stated as she noticed them, Ranma noticing Genma observing how unsteady and slow her gait was, even with the walking stick that also acted as a way to keep her from losing a foot, or worse, in this wretched stretch of land, "I wish to ask if either or both of you can help me..."  
Ranma looked towards his father as soon as she said that. He’d got used to spotting when his father was about to lie. It came from watching him, every day, when he was met by people who'd offered them a bed to sleep on, but their family nest egg had gone missing, or their dojo had been robbed. In practically all those cases, Ranma found himself with a heavier pack, and with the latter cases, the training manuals his father used were practically always in better shape than the ones he normally had.

Genma's posture shifted, and Ranma knew he was about to let loose with some of the worst lies yet. If they even remotely were, as far as Genma was concerned, going to help her at all, they’d be surprised. His father then declared, with false sincerity, "We are sorry, but our journey is already delayed navigating this nightmarish place..."

Ranma mentally scoffed. He'd more than delivered. They'd come into the killing fields ahead of Genma's unknown schedule, with him, a few hours ago, claiming they would make good time. Ranma knew he wasn't worried about his schedule. He'd noticed the woman was limping, and had immediately decided that she would be a hindrance to whatever he was planning to do.  
"Pops... We can't just leave her here..." Ranma almost growled under his breath, before he looked towards the woman, warmly asking, with real sincerity, "I noticed you looking at a picture earlier. Is this a pilgrimage for your husband, or one of your children maybe?"  
"My only son. He was killed by a mine on the day he was about to come home, and..." The woman began, telling them both of her hardships. Ranma ran his hand through his hair as if he was listening and thinking about helping her, his father looking at him.  
With Ranma, he was attempting a different kind of lie, hoping that his father would believe Ranma was considering not helping the old woman. Of course he was going to help her, and might even make a small pilgrimage of his own.

Ranma cursed mentally as Genma started to look round, looking at his map, muttering to himself. Stage 2 of the lie, he was about to find an issue with the route, meaning they couldn't possibly take that route. He’d figured out his ruse, and his next words would nullify that, in 3… 2… 1...

"This is a problem… We're going to need to double back, Son..." Genma stated, looking away from the woman's pilgrimage site, "As I suspected, our route is blocked, and I can't see any safe detour here..."  
  
Ranma mentally rolled his eyes. Genma was using one of his more predictable patterns, to the point Ranma could smell the crap from a mile off. He quite literally pushing for Ranma to leave this woman alone, let her do the pilgrimage from her tree trunk, or get herself blown up if she was that desperate, by claiming that they'd gone the wrong way. Ranma knew the map didn't show the minefields.

He was making up reasons, making up excuses. It was not how Ranma liked to see his father. The scam artist, who'd pickpocket you with one hand while loaning you back your own money when you found it missing. He was embarrassed to admit he'd actually seen Genma do it, and even 'finding' a lost 'precious keepsake' and handing it in for the reward...

...then, a week later, when he thought Ranma wasn’t looking, the same precious keepsake ended up at a pawnbroker’s. Roughly a third of the time, Ranma managed to get hold of the sales slip, along with enough money to pay them back, and had anonymously mailed it back. Later, he’d realise that was quite why the woman had been there at all.

"If we help her, I think we could use her help to get past the worst of the blockage..." Ranma pressed, before hissing, "At least one of us is willing to help..."

"Here's the route I was hoping to take..." The woman offered, on a more recent map, which showed there was a minor avalanche, and it might have caused them trouble, but Ranma noted Genma barely looked at the map.

The route was similar to the one they'd originally planned, off Genma's outdated map, but they'd walked straight into the avalanche, and now he was using it to get out of the area. This was the only way that would get them to the mountain range in good time. Ranma, now he knew Genma's pattern in this case, knew what he was planning.

They'd ditch the woman, head off in a somewhat random direction, set up camp in a nearby smoothed and cleared area, just out of sight, then, when he was sure she was gone, he'd study the map again, and realise he'd 'misread' the map at the time, but, 'unfortunately', they lost their opportunity to help the woman. Ranma no longer even wanted to consider his father's path, because he was now really seeing how much his father had no interest in honourable acts. This was the lowest he'd ever seen his father sink to, and he decided, right there, he was having none of it.  
  
"We were planning on that route originally..." Ranma mused, able to see that, while it was a dangerous route, the hazards were a lot less plentiful than he'd worried about, "I would be happy to escort you..."

"If you get your leg blown off, I will not be the one at fault..." Genma stated, acting like he even cared, "Boy, if you want to go that route, fine… You can see where the route meets again. If I don't see you there when I arrive, you will get extra training for your slothfulness!"

"He'll be a barrel of laughs in the future… Lazy, greedy good-for-nothing..." The woman grumbled, following Ranma along the new route as Genma continued on. After he'd gone out of sight, she steered them away from the location she'd been going towards, heading towards where another tree trunk was, Ranma wondering how many of these there were, before asking "What do you know of Karma?"

"It hates me. Do you think I really want to be heading through former Red Army minefields?" Ranma asked. The woman smiled at Ranma, seeming to find entertainment in some private joke.

"If that's the case, why didn't you go with your father?" The woman pressed.

"Maybe the fact he was just spouting out a ton of lies and bullshit to get rid of you... Sorry about that. He can get like that sometimes, I hate when I see him going for the worst lies. He only judged the route as poor since I actually wanted to help..." Ranma sighed, the woman stopping them as they arrived at the tree trunk, sitting down and looking thoughtful.

"So, tell me… Why do you think karma hates you? Well, you are going to get there before your father, since he'll need to do quite the detour..." The woman pressed again, Ranma running his hands through his hair. She had a good point. Because of all his bluster, he'd need to add at least another hour to his trip, and that was if he didn't find another path that was no longer viable.

"Every day, If I don't do my fair share training, I don't get anything to eat, and I've got to keep my eyes on my meal, since, if I'm not ready to defend it, Pops takes the lion's share of the meal anyway..." Ranma grumbled, for the woman to seem to, if anything, become more and more angered by what he was admitting.

"So, you don't work yourself to exhaustion, you don't get to even try to eat, and even then, you get barely your rightful share since you're too tired to defend yourself?" She asked, for Ranma to pause, before slowly nodding, "Kuso… Does he even allow you five minutes to do something other than some thinly veiled form of training, that's always almost always to the limits of your endurance, like have fun, do things someone your age should be doing? And don't tell me the training is fun, That's a lie... It would be if you took proper breaks, but this... No."

"I get a few hours sleep, then it's up early, training till dawn..." Ranma offered, sighing as he slumped, before trying, "Pops always said that I can't become as good as him if I sleep the night away..."

"So, he has you effectively fighting to get a decent meal, tires you out before the day's even started..." The woman stated, Ranma wincing. She was right.  
  
The small victories he got, when they happened, felt great, earned him a bit of peace and quiet, and a good meal, while Genma recovered, but he recovered faster than he would like, Genma beating him like a drum if he even got slightly relaxed and 'complacent', with Ranma suspecting he pulled his punches and faked exhaustion to keep him on his toes.

However, Whenever Ranma got a major break due to Genma actually hurting himself, the next training session left him beaten, bruised and sore, with Genma claiming he lost because he wasn't training enough, ordering him to do extra drills to push past the pain, and, if Ranma had an accident himself, that body part would be the focus of the following week's training.

He'd got a broken arm once. When it finally got to the doctor, he was berated for not coming sooner since it had further fractured. All his father had said was that if he blocked better, he'd not have stressed the injury, not mentioning he'd deliberately made sure to set up combos that left that part undefended, and to give himself plenty of openings to get a good, hard strike in, and the only reason he brought him in was that Ranma wasn't able to fight back at all...

...and that was after he'd given him a good extra hour of drubbing, which meant twice as long in the hospital, and they didn't even pay half the fees.  
  
"Now, I'll give you that, but..." Ranma offered, "You seen what kind of stuff that they can do in movies? I'm well on the way to being that good."

The woman sighed.

"Got a free tip for you. People like that, the big action heroes? Notice how they're 30, 40, that kind of age?" The woman asked, prodding her walking stick at him as he nodded, "Do you think they spend their informative years picking their way around minefields to get to a remote training area? Or train themselves to breaking point every single day?"

"No, they don't..." Ranma stated, finding that his statement didn't feel as triumphant as when he'd said it.

"Someone your age shouldn't be here. You should have a social circle, hobbies… outside martial arts if possible… and good friends who'll stick up for you when times are harsh," The woman snapped, "I doubt you even have one of those. If you're as good as someone like Bruce Lee when you're less than half his age, you've probably not had a single day to really pick up any of those things, and it shows in how much you defend what is a position that I find abhorrent… Anyway, Karma doesn't have it in for you at all..."

Ranma looked at her confused, for her to smirk at him. "From what I can see, your life is governed by a simple rule… Anything where you're successful, you get a great heap of crap dumped on you..." The woman asked, Ranma slowly nodding, "Of course, any time you fail, you also get a life lesson about how life 'isn't fair' and to try harder. That's not karma. Well, not in the way you think it is,"

"Oh, So what is it?" Ranma asked.

"You've stopped getting the good karma, the praise, the feeling of accomplishment, because every scrap you get, it's taken away by that lazy bum breaking you down again, earning himself a personal pat on the back," She explained, "You're instead being used to offload your father's bad karma, so you never feel like you're a success. I bet you that, when you get past these minefields, something will go wrong, and you'll be the one who has to fix it, whether or not it ends up bad for you. However, I'll let you in on a little secret,"

"Oh?" Ranma stated, realising that, when he got worse training for getting 'one up' on his father, his father did steal his good times, his victories, because it was always… always him lying in pain in the end. And if he got something bad happen to him, he had to deal with it himself, with no help from anyone, to fight past the adversity.

"Your father might think he's avoided it, but Payback will be an almighty bitch to him when she finally gets to give your father his dues..." The woman stated, "Meanwhile, Fate could be your friend, and that will repay you with a great bounty..."

"We've got to get going..." Ranma stated, looking at the light levels, "I doubt it will take my father that long to get to the next place..."

"It is getting later than I expected. OK, One last thing then… Not all things people call curses are bad, some can be really good..." The woman stated, "You'll be encountering a life changing experience soon. Your father will call it a curse, say for you to shun it, discard it, get rid of it..."

"Oh, and what should I do, instead of listen to him?" Ranma asked, confused by the roundabout way she put it.

"Accept it as the gift it can be, and it will pay you back ten-fold in benefits and good luck. However, treat it like the curse it purports to be, and you will find that you never have a moment's peace, your karma never improving," The woman began, then got up, offering, oddly, "Now, I think that this is where we part ways..."

Ranma blinked as he saw an exhausted Genma approach, personally confused as he realized he'd somehow skipped well over half the trip. Getting down from the tree trunk, he noticed it was the only one there, and the scenery had changed. He'd somehow teleported to their meeting spot. And all because he sat down with someone and discussed his life. Ranma knew, at that point, he wasn't going to keep letting Genma toss all the crap his way. And it all began in a place named...  
  
_**Jusenkyo...**_


	2. Is It Better To Shoot First... Or Ask Questions?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jusenkyo...
> 
> That terrible place that cursed Ranma for the rest of his life...  
Or was it the beginning of his freedom to choose how to live his life?
> 
> A new approach changes how the Amazons are dealt with, possibly removing one of Ranma's biggest problems outright...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Before anyone accuses me of exaggerating Genma, a simple question – What happened to the Kunoji family’s cart?
> 
> I’m waiting…
> 
> OK, My opinion is that, more than likely, it was dismantled and anything of value sold off or similar, since Genma personally likely didn’t have a clue how to use it, and what supplies inside it were gone through in days.  
Going back to the story, I will add that I’m not going to say who the old woman was, but she was much older than she seems, as well as much younger than she looked. Let’s just say that there was more going on there than a simple detour. Now we get to Jusenkyo, and a very different way of handling the curse, since Ranma has already got a bee in his ear about not treating it as such...  
Speech in only italics is in the Chinese dialect. I will use bold for emphasis in those sections.

It was not a commonly known fact, but the Jusenkyo Guide was intended as a form of filter for the cursed springs. Lost travellers asking for directions got told where the path was, and people who were loud and crass got limited advice in a vague approximation of whatever they spoke, followed by a dunking.  When he saw the Saotomes, he knew exactly who would be taking the more treacherous path through the accursed pools.

Of the two of them, The man was either ignorant or stupid, or even both, clearly either  ha dn’t learn ed the language or,  more likely, didn't want to listen, not even trying to acknowledge even his abridged version of the history of Jusenkyo. 

Meanwhile, the boy shrugged, practically giving the universal gesture of apology before he joined the rough-voiced man, who was, of all things, sparring with him atop the bamboo poles sticking out of the springs. The boy knew full well that even talking to his companion was an exercise in futility.

When they were cursed, the man landing heavily in the spring of drowned panda with conviction, he could tell that the other curse was Fated. There were very very specific rules in what counted as being cursed, with there being no risk from the water that weighed down clothes or splashed from the impact.

The boy fell in a way that, in any other situation, he’d have landed on dry ground, possibly falling in a way that he’d just end up wet from his awkward landing. Instead, he fell short. Also, while the neo-panda looked annoyed, almost like he was a wild panda, while the girl looked thoughtful, as if discovering something.

“Hello… Hmm, That’s new…” She began, in practically fluent Chinese, much better than the Guide would have expected. And clearly the boy hadn’t even known the language that well either. This deserved study.

“Oh right, Excuse me, but can I loan some proper clothes? I do not want to look like a ‘tomboy’...” She asked after a minute, taking a string out of her hair, somehow figuring out how to wear it in bunches instinctively, soon looking like a slightly exotic, but still local-born, girl, “Okay, can you change my father back… Even if he suits the look very well...”

Oh yes, it was definitely fated. After the change of clothes, there was no way to tell she was someone who was cursed. She didn’t even ask for a cure, instead reinforcing the image. Oh yes, someone was watching over this.

“Why are you dressing and looking like a girl?” The man snapped, for her to point at a notice nearby, dropping back into Japanese.

“Hot water cures, any cold water turns you back… Like, say, rain?” She offered, “Unless you plan for me to dress in rain wear all the time, this will work better...”

The guide chuckled. Yes, she was smart. The man would be changing back and forth constantly, while the girl…

She’d dropped into a new stance, her steps almost bouncy, as she studied her new body's abilities.

“Also, lighter, faster… Surprisingly good centre of balance...” She continued, “Could be useful in the long run… Yes, I think that I will stay like this for a bit...”

“Is there someone I can consult over these curses?” The man stated through gritted teeth, his ‘daughter’ snickering. Oh yes, this change was definitely Fated. The boy's behaviour was so much that of a girl's, but he barely acknowledged it. More than just a form change had been granted by the curse...  
  


When they arrived at the Amazon village, the guide was glad to be rid of them. Genma’s temper hadn’t improved, and he actually became slightly snappy when a rainstorm did occur, and proved Ranma right. It was odd for ‘her’, to see her father grumbling and angry, the smaller and lighter body the “curse” gave ‘her’ easily able to dodge his more sluggish panda paws.

He’d need a few days to get used to turning into a panda. Ranma needed only a few minutes to judge the different mass of ‘her’ new body. Added to that was that her cursed form was bilingual, and she didn’t even need to try to understand what the Chinese signage said.  Most Japanese adults had problems with some words, even though the  character s were  often identical  between the two, and long-form Chinese was very different to Japanese.

That’s what brought her to stop her father when he approached with hunger what was clearly a banquet set out as a prize.

The women nearby showed approval of her holding him back, her attire and clear comprehension of the language marking her as native, while Genma played the boorish Japanese male stereotype oh so well. It was a perfect set up  for her to use a side of herself that Genma had attempted to let fester.

“Notice how no-one is partaking yet?...” Ranma hissed to him, “You’ve always taught me to be wary of my surroundings, and something seems odd about that… Give me ten minutes. If you dare take a single bite, I’ll claim I’m just travelling with you, and we’re not related…  _And they’d believe me_, ”

She then moved towards the nearby Amazons who had shown such respect to how she’d stopped her father, approaching them with the universal sign she was unarmed and came to them for peaceful discussion, for them to look at her with weapons sheathed.

“Excuse me, but me and my companion were wondering what you can tell a humble traveller, who recently passed through the nearby mountains, about that food there?” She offered, using a milder version of the opening gambit her father used when dealing with someone he was planning to scam hot food and a bed off, namely acting as peaceful as possible while stroking their ego. They clearly accepted her question, one of the older women approaching after she talked with her, clearly a village elder or similarly important figure.

“The nearby mountains? I did notice you arrive with the Guide, so I can guess…” The woman stated, Ranma nodding, “The food is a feast that will be served later in honour of the winner of our village tournament. If you or your travelling companion had taken any, it would be a huge sleight against the competitors, and they would require compensation...”

“Since it would be theft from them...” Ranma stated thoughtfully. She had an idea which could benefit her and also curb her father’s attempts to get about a quarter, maybe even half the feast into his stomach before the tournament ended, plus allow her father’s ego to be stroked as well. A win-win situation.

“I wish for a boon from you, as a test of my skills,” She requested, “May I join your competition, with the same restrictions and caveats as one of your own warriors?”  


Khu Lon froze, taken aback by the simple, but far reaching boon. Instead of asking for provisions and ignorance of the man’s clearly overwhelming greed, she’d offered a way in which she could, legitimately, claim a more than ample share of the feast for their use, since anything the man took would already belong to her.

Even more, she’d not asked for something as egotistical as to challenge the champion for the feast, which would somewhat insult those who she fought, by making herself out to be better than them all. Instead, she’d asked to be judged as if she’d been one of the competitors, so, if she won, she’d be the champion, no questions. It was very much the Amazon way of handling a problem. And the solution was easy.

“You make an acceptable offer, but I will add an extra caveat… If you win, you may take your fill of the feast as provisions for your travels, and go with our blessings...” She offered, before adding, “But, if you lose, if this is a curse you wear, it will be sealed and you will be one of the tribe, and we will punish the man with you as if he had made his attempt… The person you once were would be as if dead,”

“I would accept nothing less,” The girl stated.

“I have an announcement. We will be doing some… exhibition matches, to test the skills of this lost sister...” Khu Lon declared, “As a result of a boon agreed between us both, the Kiss Of Death will not apply,”

Ranma didn’t know what the ‘kiss of death’ was, but apparently, it was banned from use. Meanwhile, Genma was given a seat, close enough to watch, but with several warriors watching him intently. Genma’s face blossomed into a smile as the  E lder’s expression grew annoyed, but thoughtful, as Ranma showed her exemplary skill.

“She was sensible to do the deal. She is of great skill, and could, possibly, have taken on whatever champion there will be...” The Elder mused to Genma, “But it would have seen her as an outsider who insulted said champion, and Amazon Law would have not been kind...”

Genma nodded woodenly. After the ‘exhibition matches’ had finished, they announced a change in the match arrangements, Ranma smirking to herself.

As she thought, they had been effectively letting her go through the lower tiers on her own merits, to disallow any complaints of preferential treatment, and had placed her as if she’d been there from the start, with the matches continuing with Ranma one of two favourites,  the other being a local called Xian Pu.

“Outsider, Please meet me in my private rooms. We have something to discuss...” The woman who had answered her earlier stated  as she finished the last match , taking Ranma to a nearby shack, handing her a cup of clearly hot water. Ranma nodded at the insinuation, and changed her clothes before using the water, and putting back on his normal outfit, the other favourite, and originally the expected champion, coming in as he re-entered.

“Xian Pu is my great grand daughter, and is expected to be your opponent if you do as well as you did with your early opponents…” The elder stated, “This is the cursed form of the outsider. If you dare use hot water as a weapon, or attempt to reveal that the outside is male, I will call the match off and award her the victory...”

Ranma considered something. He needed to offer some way to give, rather than the heavy amount of take he was getting away with  in that they could not reveal him, and he’d become close to getting away with everything without anything given in return .

“I wish to add an extra caveat…” Ranma offered, the elder looking thoughtful, “If I am victorious, when I take a bride, she will be sworn into the Amazons, and my curse will be revealed at that time. If I lose, is there a punishment for a male who fights an amazon?”

“I accept that as repayment of the debt you will owe me with keeping this secret. If you fought, unprotected by our agreement, you would be subject to the Kiss Of Marriage, making you the husband of any Amazon you fought today,” The elder stated.  She then paused, before smirking.

“With your caveat, you have promised to return to repay that you won as an outsider… Effectively, You annul the Kiss by promising that you will become part of the tribe even if you leave unmolested… Effectively, you ensure we win, even if you are victorious...” The elder stated. Ranma shook his finger.

"Please remember our original wager…" He stated.

“What does the outsider male mean?” Xian Pu asked.

“Ah yes… Xian, Ran, or rather, Lian, is not an outsider...” The elder offered, “If you win the tournament, Lian will join the clan as a sister amazon, and the man she arrived with... will not leave. If she wins the tournament, she will leave on a pilgrimage, and return eventually...”

When they went outside, Ranma’s curse back up, The elder stated, loudly, “The outsider is now one with the clan, having made a mutually beneficial agreement. Treat her as an amazon, or face justice...”

The fight, to decide the winner, between Xian Pu and Ranma, was enjoyable for both of them, with good natured banter, Ranma not fighting to humilate, but to prove herself.  Due to the arrangement, there was no questions of either of the punishments for fighting an Amazon. This was the kind of sparring match that Ranma had wanted to test her cursed form, and it ended in a judge’s decision, which landed in Ranma’s favour.

“Honored one, Is there only a victor due to our wager?” Ranma asked.

“You’re a smart girl! Yes, we only judged who won since there was a wager in place, and the benefits of either winner. Over the wager, You won, but...” The woman stated, before motioning for both girls to stand before the elder’s table, as she declared, using some kind of voice amplification technique, “It has been a long time since we have had two winners in Xianpu, and our new  sister , Lianzi!”

‘Or, in Japanese, Ranko... I like it... Yes, to them, I will be Lianzi...’ Ranma mused mentally, before declaring, “As thanks for what you did, My travel partner will be last to take his share from the feast...”

When Genma heard what she’d said, he realised what she had meant, as she headed off to a table to one side with the amazon she’d sparred with, going back to their banter, the warriors taking turns to go get their food, keeping him watched, so he couldn’t teach the brat a lesson, and he got a much smaller portion of the feast, even with the fact the uneaten portion was given to them to take away.

“You were weak and soft… You could have defeated her easily...” Genma grumbled, “You effectively allowed them to win, whatever happened, by effectively saying that, even with your victory, it carries a promise that they will still benefit in the long run...”

“Next time we deal with a foreign community who could beat us senseless with sheer numbers, and have laws in place to have outsider males put to death for the smallest of infractions, we’ll go with your idea...” Ranma replied, Genma going white, “As a result of sparring with her as an equal, not blowing her off the challenge log in minutes, I have a friend for life. Anyway, It’s not like I’ll be married by the time I’m 20, we have plenty of time before we’ll have to come back...”

“Yes, Yes, maybe you were right...” Genma stated, wincing at the comment about a ‘shotgun wedding’ scenario ,  “Anyway, Why would when you’re married matter?”

“I made a deal where I would return to induct my wife into the Amazons, as a trade-off on outright marrying an Amazon, which is the only other option,” Ranma stated, stressing the fact, “After that, well, they retroactively decide  Lianzi was always an Amazon, I’m not an outsider, and no-one loses their head...”

Genma nodded gruffly. He hoped that Ranma didn’t know about the marriage contract in the very bottom of his pack. Otherwise, someone might get killed. Like him, since he’d not have agreed to such a generous offer. Why had Ranma somehow managed to actually out think him, and make sure, if this blew up in someone’s face, It was Genma who would end up with his head on a pole...  He liked when the boy-turned-girl was oblivious to his schemes. He never lost then!

He especially knew Happosai, when he returned, would not be happy. More than likely, he’d been through here before, meaning that the Amazons were probably not people he was allied with, especially since Happosai’s opinions on women were bigoted in the extreme. So to hear that Anything Goes had been handed to them on a silver platter…

He was screwed. Just thinking of telling Soun that whichever daughter married Ranma was getting a permanent vacation to China made him feel ill...

He hoped Ranma forgot before the wedding finally happened.  Or didn’t call in his new friends when Genma tried to argue. As ‘Lianzi’, Ranma could stand aside and watch them slaughter him and Happosai. Knowing them, one, or all three, of Soun’s daughters would be kindly offered a position within Lianzi’s tribe, and Soun might live.

Anyone else involved in abusing the rights of one named as an Amazon… Wouldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I point out, In this case, Ranma leaves the Amazon village with all the cards.
> 
> Xian Pu and Khu Lon are his secret keepers, and he was overly generous with what he did to himself to make sure that Amazon Law was followed.  
By outright stating that he would enter Amazon society in the future, They see him as 'Lianzi' first. When the Amazons do come to Nerima in the future, since it's primary Xian Pu and Khu Lon, the engagement won't be in place, and 'Son-in-Law' will be taken as a form of endearment.
> 
> Next chapter... The Tendos, and I think you can already tell how THAT is going to be different.


End file.
